4
All That Jazz...
The University Jazz Ensemble
performs with members of the 'U'
Dance Department as well as Los
Gatos. 8 p.m. Mendelssohn Theatre.
michigandaily. com/arts
ARTS
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 11,2001
4
'Stop Kiss' provides
simple love story
Rockettes dance
through Detroit in
Christmas show
By MartseBernard
Daily Arts Writer
Two weeks before the premiere of
"Stop Kiss," the1
s Y
Stop Kiss
Performance
Network
Through Dec. 23
everyone involved
Performance Net-
work received a
letter from
three sub-
scribers stating
that they found
the topic of the
play - which
involves a les-
bian couple -
to be offensive.
The play
attempts to
address the
danger of these
exact stereo-
types and thus,
d with the produc-
The sort of reaction it elicited
would lead one to believe that this
piece is either incredibly shocking
or involves some something porno-
graphic - but it is hardly that. It is,
quite simply, a love story. It is a ten-
der and humorous and beautiful
story of a love which could hardly
be called offensive. At the time,
David Wolber, the marketing direc-
tor of Performance Network, said,
"I'd love to have this play be a
grand success instead of a play that
drew a few offended remarks and
didn't get seen by many people."
His wish has come true.
Three weeks into its run, "Stop
Kiss" has been received warmly by
the entire community (minus three).
Performance Network even chose to
add additional performances due to
its incredible popularity and rapid
sellout. It is a timely work that
By Elizabeth Manasse
Daily Arts Writer
The world-famous Radio City
Rockettes are visiting Detroit's Fox
Courtesy of Performance Network
Actor Lynch Travis questions Carla Milarch (Callie) in "Stop Kiss."
tion was concerned for its future.
deserves every accolade it receives.
"Stop Kiss" is the story of Callie
(Carla Milarch), an anxious and
energetic New Yorker. She is a radio
traffic reporter who still hangs out
with her NYU friends and is
involved in an on-again off-again
romance with her college buddy,
George (Travis Reiff). Sara
(Michelle Murphy) is a new friend
of hers, a St. Louis girl living in
New York to teach third-graders in
the Bronx.
The play alternates between two
equally engaging narratives. One is
the evolution of Sara and Callie's
relationship, beginning with their
first meeting. The other is various
scenes which relate to a crime
which, chronologically, takes place
exactly when the major narrative
ends. While sitting on a West Vil-
lage park bench, Callie and Sara are
assaulted by a man who initiated
their interactions with homophobic
slurs. Sara is in the hospital, while
Callie tries to piece together both
the details of the crime and her rela-
tionships with Sarah and her family.
Together, these narratives come
together to explore the difference
between the pure and uplifting
nature of their love for one another
and the traumatic event which
results from their assaulters' igno-
rance.
It is a story of courage and the
steps we take to make change com-
fortable in all aspects of our lives.
This pieced-together narrative style
keeps the play at a tight and engag-
ing pace.
The play is beautifully acted and
carefully directed. These are gen-
uine characters and Milarch and
Murphy both radiate a certain inti-
macy that brings the audience closer
to the emotional core of the piece.
Diana Son, the author of "Stop
Kiss," is a recent recipient of Berilla
Kay Playwriting Award. The play
premiered at the New York Shake-
speare Festival/Joseph Papp Public
Theater two seasons ago and has
been produced at over 25 theaters in
the United States.
Theatre for their
Radio City
Christmas
Spectacular
Fox Theatre
Through December 29
fifth season of
"The Radio
City Christmas
Spectacular."
The 2001 edi-
tion of the show
will play
through Dec.
29.
For more
than three quar-
ters of a centu-
ry, the Radio
City Rockettes,
the world's
most well-
known preci-
I
q
Courtesy of Perormance Network
Sara (Michelle Murphy) instructs Callie (Carla Milarch) on the art of kissing.
Ozzy Osbourne rocks Cobo, spreads
Christmas joy with merry mayhem,
By Sonya Sutherland
Daily Arts Writer
Winter is the happiest time of the year and
who better to bring Merry Mayhem tidings than
the bat-biting minister of Satan himself and his
Ozzy
Osbourne
Cobo Arena
Dec. 8,2001
mischievous posse of metal
cohorts.
Although Ozzy's winter
tour lacks the full day line-
up of last summer's Ozzfest,
the shorter winter program
features more bang for the
buck with new comers Soil
(the Insane Clown Posse
meets huggybear stylings of
Mudvayne), and one of the
best and brightest showmen,
Rob Zombie. Lest we forget
to mention the man of the
hour, Ozzy Osbourne, who
traversed the Atlantic
ble growlings and guitar riffs, Kud delivered a
few words of advice to the audience. "When you
get home today parents, take your kids into a
room for 15 minutes, shut the door and give
them a hug. Tell them how proud you are of
them. If anyone tells you that you can't be who
you are, fuck them. You are the one who has to
wear the skin on your skeleton."
After promising a new album devoid of cor-
porate tampering, the boys left the stage as
quickly as they had appeared, leaving the audi-
ence hyped for the treats soon to come.
If anyone knows how to make an entrance, it's
Rob Zombie. Putting on arguably the best show
in all the biz, the deadlocked cowboy-hatted Mr.
Zombie and company brought video screens,
scantily clad hotties and a killer ruckus to
delight Detroit.
Citing the Motor City as "the best fucking
venue" more than a few times, Zombie was dis-
pleased, to say the least, when he tried in vein to
encourage the female audience members to
reveal their bosoms. Not that the lack of flesh
could stop the show; the entertainment contin-
ued with pyrotechnics, porn footage and some
sort of stripperish femicops alternating between
dancing and spotlighting the crowd.
Remarking that his skull still had some lumps
and bangs from his days 12 years ago at Harpo's
in Detroit, Zombie debuted part of his new
movie - a horror flick with plenty of carnage
and plenty of breasts - played some new tracks
off his new album, mixed in some of the old and
overall provided a show most headlining acts
could hope to match.
Fear not, although Mr. Zombie can surely
upstage anyone from the latest god-awful boy
band to our nearest and dearest, Britney Spears,
the show's headliner was Ozzy Ozbourne.
Despite senior citizen status, he's been rocking
for the last three decades and isn't showing any
signs of slowing.
Soon the darkened arena was lit up via a big
screen TV playing the video for "Lady Mar-
malade." Since this was Ozzy Ozbourne's show
and not Carson [Daly's, a quiet wide-eyed confu-
sion ensued until time revealed the blond
wigged 1,800 pantie-clad, whorehouse costume
concealed the body of a much larger rougher
sort -- Osbourne in drag. Moving past the Wild
West, Ozzy inhabited the roles of a few of our
foolish American pop culture 15-minute famers
- portraying everyone including that guy who
never does except get high to Miss Cleo. He
even makes a limo cameo to tell J-Lo's "fat ass
to get it right. It's not a bracelet it's a cock ring."
Making his physical entrance high above the
crowd, Ozzy rode in on his sleigh, making his
way from the back of Cobo, 'flying' through the
falling snow, blasting a pyrotechnic shotgun and
muttering what can be understood through his
thick English rock jargon as "happy bloody
Christmas."
Reaching destination front stage as the Santa-
nailed-to-a-cross backdrop caught flame, Ozzy
waved and welcomed his devoted congregation
and began what can only be described as a
whirlwind of metal. Spending time with Mr.
Crowley, riding the crazy train and reminding
all that he is not the Antichrist, Ozzy recognized
the season as one of giving and sharing, leaving
Zach Wilde to do some damage on guitar while
Ozbourne presumably took a short respite from
the excitement. Playing some wicked extended
solo, Wilde moved into the Star Spangled ban-
ner that blew KlSS' efforts out of the water.
Wrapping up what was undeniably one of the
best shows of the year with deafening explo-
sions, fire and flashing messages on the TV
screen relating "go fucking crazy" and "show
me your tits," Ozzy went out with a bang, show-
ing that as the leader of the senior citizens
brigade he can kick the ass of anyone that wants
to bring it.
sion dance troupe, have been a
legendary force in entertainment
and a holiday tradition for many
people. "So many families have
taken on the show as a traditional
part of their holiday celebration,"
said Krystle Richeson, a Rockette
from Farmington Hills. The Rock-
ettes' starring role in "The Radio
City Christmas Spectacular" at
Radio City Music Hall and in other
cities across the United States is
watched by more people in one year
than all other live shows in Ameiica
- more than 2.1 million people
annually. This holiday season, the
Rockettes will perform in Atlanta,
Chicago, Cleveland and Nashville,
as well as Detroit.
This year the Rockettes will cele-
brate 75 years of high kicks and
precision dance. In fact, two scenes
in the show are performed with the
same choreography as they were
when the show began. "The Parade
of the Wooden Soldiers," a preci-
sion military marching routine, has
been performed in Radio City's hol-
iday show each year since 1933.
"The Living Nativity" upholds a
tradition begun by St. Francis of
Assisi in 1223 for the people of
Greccio, Italy and has also been a
revered part of The Radio City
Christmas Spectacular for 75 years.
The look of the Detroit show has
been customized to match the opu-
lence of the Fox Theatre. More than
10,000 light bulbs and sparkles
have been added to the scenery.
Props and scenery for eight sets
were custom constructed and hand-
painted with elements coming from
New York, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Portland and Washington, D.C. Ten
trailer trucks were needed to deliver
everything to the Fox Theatre. The
Rockettes also have seven different
costume changes during the show.
The concept of the precision
dance line is to achieve absolute
uniformity. The audience sees the
20 Rockettes perform intricate rou-
tines, but always moving as if one
dancer. Everything - the dancer's
height, the costumes and steps -
are meant to look completely identi-
cal. "We get a note telling us if our
fingers are even an inch out of
place," said Richeson. "We work to
be totally uniform."
The illusion of uniform height is
maintained by putting the tallest
dancers in the center and gradually
decreasing the height with the
shortest women at either end. The
Rockettes have stayed with the tra-
dition of precision dance over the
last 75 years, with some variation in
style.
"As new dance styles and trends
evolve, changes in our choreogra-
phy come out responding to the new
styles," Richeson said. "That's what
keeps people coming back to watch
Ocean, picking his way through two-hour air-
port traffic and anthrax to bring his rock circus
to metal-starved America.
With Soil occupying the opening slot, croon-
ing the appropriate angry thrash anthems, the
real fun didn't begin until singer Kud of Mud-
vayne took the stage sporting a full fur jumpsuit
artistically enhanced with rubber blood and gut
entrails for that fresh road kill look. Joining him
among the glowing fetuses in a jar (stage props)
were Gurrg, sPaG and RyKnow with a similar
bizarre visual intensity, emerging in their tradi-
tional face paint style of a crazed four-year-old
having experimented with their mom's make up
kit.
Although vocals meshed indistinguishably
with distorted guitars best describes Mudvayne's
performance, their intensity and stage presence
explained their large enthusiastic fan following.
Taking a moment between the incomprehensi-
T
Courtesy of Olympia Entertainment
The Rockettes get into the spirit of
Christmas as playful Santas and
smiling toy soldiers.
us every year."
Along with the Rockettes, the
cast includes five sheep, three
camels, two donkeys and one dog.
The sheep, camel and donkeys take
part in "The Living Nativity," which
truly brings the scene to life. Other
scenes include "We Need a Little
Christmas," "Santa's Gonna Rock
'N' Roll," "The Nutcracker: A Lit-
tle Girl's Dream," "Santa's Candy
Castle," "Santa's Workshop," "Carol
of the Bells" and "One Solitary
Life." Another piece, "Christmas in
New York," features ice skating per-
formed on an artificial ice rink,
which is built on a moveable plat-
form.
The Rockettes play an integral
role in many Radio City theatrical
productions, special events and tele-
vision productions. Each year the
Rockettes appear in the nationally
televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade and the locally televised
America's Thanksgiving Day
Parade. For several years, they've
opened the "Daytime Emmy
Awards," broadcasted live from
Radio City Music Hall and have
appeared on "Late Night with
Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno." The Rock-
ettes also performed the Grand
Finale of the Presidential Inaugural
Celebration earlier this year.
I
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4
Cruz eXaines e themes in 'Maraca'
By Babawole Akin-Aina
Daily Arts Writer
Sex, the cliche goes, is like Chi-
nese food: Everyone does it but
only a few do it right. So it is with
poetry, it seems. Literature is filled
with pretenders who believe that
spilling their emotions - whatever
influences shine authentically
throughout his work. These influ-
ences arise from a Latino family
background fused with a childhood
in New York City. Add to this the
era of the '50s and '60s when Cruz
grew up, and the result is a bottom-
less pit of unique life experiences to
draw upon and share.
The themes Cruz attacks are both
universal - such as sex, love, loss
and music - and unique, such as
Caribbean Jazz, the crack epidemic,
Latin dance and racially mixed fam-
it displayed much promise; the raw
talent was present but the work was
sophomoric and lacked structure.
This can be contrasted with the pol-
ish and refinement of his latest col-
lection; the work is finely crafted
and the poetry speaks for itself.
This is not to imply anything nega-
tive about Cruz's earlier works. It is
a simple validation of the fact that
his work has gotten a lot better with
time.
Cruz is something of a rarity in
today's world of MTV literature. He
is n, nine As ,one' of{ the earliest
for the critical examination of one's
existence. Victor Hernandez Cruz
does this and much more. He asks
the reader to look at their life and
the people in it, but he also asks
them if those people are looking
back
Maraca
they might be
- in a random
fashion across
the face of a
page creates
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